The Russian space agency Roscosmos has successfully launched a Soyuz rocket with a dual-mission payload from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. The rocket lifted two primary rockets Ionosfera-M satellites The goal is to monitor space weather around Earth while deploying 53 smaller satellites, including two from Iran.
The main payload of the Soyuz-2.1 spacecraft, the Ionosfera-M satellites, each weighing 430 kg, will orbit 820 kilometers above the Earth's surface. These satellites will be a crucial part of a broader system for monitoring the ionosphere – a region between 50 and 400 miles above the planet where Earth's atmosphere meets space.
According to NASA, understanding the ionosphere is critical to predicting space weather because this layer influences satellite operations and global communications systems. Roskosmos plans to expand this system with four Ionosfera-M satellites, with the remaining two to be launched in 2025.
In addition to the main payload, Russia also launched a number of smaller satellites, including the Iranian satellites Kowsar and Hodhod. Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a communications satellite, mark Iran's first private launch of space technology. They join previous Iranian satellites launched by Russia, including the Khayyam Earth observation satellite in 2022 and the Pars-1 satellite earlier this year.

This launch highlights the growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran as both nations expand their ties in various areas. This comes as Western nations and Ukraine accuse Iran of supplying Moscow with drones for use in the Ukraine conflict – a claim both governments deny.
Iran's recent satellite launches with Russian support are the result of a series of setbacks in Iran's civilian space program. In recent years, the country has suffered several launch failures, including five consecutive failures of the Simorgh satellite program.
Accidents such as the 2019 launch pad fire that killed three researchers have hindered Iran's progress. Additionally, satellite images in October suggested that an Israeli retaliatory strike likely targeted a military facility used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's space program.
US intelligence has described Iran's satellite launch vehicle technology as a possible shortcut to developing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
After the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that this could enable the production of multiple nuclear weapons if Iran continues.